CEO David Lau talked to RIAs before accepting capital from TIAA and others and wants to make guaranteed income easy to buy as mutual funds
DPL Financial Partners has raised $23 million after wrestling with how much, and from whom, it would accept the capital after insurance carriers bid to buy minority stakes.
Eos Ventures and TIAA Ventures, the venture capital arms of two major investors, and “other strategic insurance investors” bought equity, the Louisville, Ky., marketplace for fee-based insurance said in a release.
DPL accepted the capital from TIAA and other annuity providers after gauging how RIAs would react, said David Lau, DPL founder and CEO.
“It wasn't something I took lightly,” he says. “I never wanted to take insurer money early in our history. It was important to establish that we're an agnostic marketplace. I talked to lots of RIAs about it,” Lau adds.
Lau was pleasantly surprised to find RIAs were “universally” supportive and took it as an affirmation of the pioneered no-commission model that insurers want to be a part of...